A lawyer for an adult film star claiming to have had a sexual encounter with President Donald Trump has filed a motion seeking evidence from the president and his lawyer.

In documents filed in the US District Court in California, Michael Avenatti is asking for evidence from Mr Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen about a 130,000 US dollar (£92,000) payment made to Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.

Mr Avenatti wants to question each for “no more than two hours” In the filing. He says the court hearing is needed to establish if Mr Trump knew about the payment and if he consented to it.

Michael Cohen has said he paid the 130,000 dollars out of his own pocket (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

“We’re looking for sworn answers from the president and Mr Cohen about what they knew, when they knew it and what they did about it,” Mr Avenatti told The Associated Press.

While he noted that “in every case you always have to be open to settlement”, Mr Avenatti said that “at this point we don’t see how this case would possibly be settled”.

Mr Cohen has said he paid the 130,000 dollars out of his own pocket, while asserting Mr Trump never had sex with the porn actress.

In a statement to CBS, Mr Cohen’s lawyer David Schwartz called the filing a “reckless use of the legal system in order to continue to inflate Michael Avenatti’s deflated ego and keep himself relevant”.